You've probably seen it.

The franchise crew with the wrapped trucks. The guys whose climbing technique makes you wince. The company that left a stump grinding mess at your neighbor's place last month.

They're booked out three weeks. You're staring at an empty Thursday.

It doesn't make sense. You're better. Your crew is cleaner. You actually know what you're doing up there.

But here's the uncomfortable truth: the better marketer often wins, not the better tree service.

You might be the best climber in your county. But if the guy down the street with average skills has his Google Business Profile dialed in, runs ads that actually target the right people, and follows up fast, guess who's getting the call?

It's not the best service that wins. It's the one people can actually find, trust, and hire easily.

Here's the mindset shift: Stop trying to be the best-kept secret.

Most tree service owners pour everything into being excellent at their work. That's admirable. But excellence without visibility is just expensive practice.

Think about it: What's the point of having the best crews, the safest practices, and the cleanest jobs if you're scrambling for work every month while some hack with a 2009 Craigslist-looking website stays busy?

The question isn't "Am I good enough?" You probably are.

The real question is: "Do enough of the right people know I exist, trust me, and have an easy way to hire me?"

That's marketing. And if you're not investing at least as much energy into getting found as you do into doing great work, you’re handing your jobs to someone less skilled but more visible.

This Week's Non-BS Action List

Here’s what you can do starting with your very next job:

None of this costs money. All of it moves the needle.

There's a tree service in the Midwest that was the safest, cleanest crew in their market and almost went under.

All they changed:

Nine months later, they cut their ad spend in half and still grew.

They weren't suddenly "better" at tree work. They just stopped being invisible.

Let me be blunt: I've watched incredible tree guys go out of business while mediocre operators with decent marketing thrive.

It drives me crazy.

You didn't get into this business to become a marketer. I get it. You got into it because you love the work; usually, it’s the equipment, the physicality, or the satisfaction of dropping something clean that most guys wouldn’t even bid on.

But here's the reality check: You're not a tree service that happens to run a business. You're a business owner who happens to do tree work.

And businesses that don't market don't survive, no matter how sharp the chains are.

Stop waiting for "word of mouth" to save you. Stop hoping people will just find you because you do good work.

The guy with the wrapped truck and the mediocre skills? He's not hoping. He's showing up where people are looking.

If that's not you, it'll be someone else.

Want to know what's actually broken?

We'll look at your Google Business Profile, your ads, your website, wherever you're showing up (or not showing up), and tell you exactly what's costing you jobs.
We typically charge $100 for these, but they’re free for Backcut readers right now.

No pitch. No pressure. Just clarity on where you're leaking leads and what to fix first.

Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media

We've worked with many tree services over the past few years, and this pattern shows up in nearly every one.